A company in England has come up with a paving tile that harvests the energy from footsteps. Pavgen has developed technology that converts the kinetic energy from foot steps into electricity that can be stored and used for a variety of applications. The tiles are designed to compress 5 millimeters in order to collect the energy.
Pavgen pavers will be installed in the mall at the 2012 London Olympics and are expected to provide enough energy to power half the mall lights. (See CNN story here.)
* Image borrowed from CNN.com
Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) is sponsoring an educational meeting to discuss the broadband wireless internet service being utilized by Culver Academies as well as others in our area. The hope is that this is another way of getting broadband service throughout the county. If you have a need for broadband internet, you should attend this event to see if it fits your needs. It is being marketed as a co-op service so increased participation lowers costs!
If you’re interested in attending, contact Pam Davis at MCEDC.
The Cache Range Hood by Zephyr provides some storage above the range in a sleek range hood. A good choice for a kitchen with limited space.
I picture it as good place for utensils and small cooking items such as spices though you might want to consider which spices to put in here. Some may be heat sensitive.
One of the problems with tile showers is how to handle the drain. The traditional drain which is centrally located functions well, but often causes problems with tile floors. The current trend towards larger tile has increased this problem. In order to slope the floor to the center drain, the installer generally resorts to multiple cuts creating an odd polygon pattern or worse, the shattered tile look. Alternatively some installers avoid the issue and leave the floor level causing puddles and standing water.
A new solution has presented itself with the installation of linear drains such as the FreeStyle Linear Drain by Noble Company. A linear drain is installed along one wall allowing an even cross slope to be installed draining the water to one side. Linear drains have been common in Europe, but have not been easily adapted to U.S. plumbing. Consider this solution when you’re looking at a tile shower.